Pallavi Sharda knows what chasing your dreams is all about.  Growing up in Melbourne Australia, she knew from a very young age she wanted to become a Bollywood actress.

We talk about making the decision to move to India to fulfill her dreams of working in Bollywood, her biggest takeaways from her time there and what she learned about herself, what she would tell other young women who want to make their mark on the world's largest film industry, and her relationship to Bollywood now.

She discusses why there is still a lack of diversity and representation for South Asian women in the film industry,  how being an Indian-Australian forced her to redefine herself time and time again, and the reason coming back home to Melbourne helped reclaim her voice and identity.

An honors graduate from the University of Melbourne Law, Arts and Languages schools, Pallavi is an advocate for India-Australia relations and the strengthening of intercultural links between the two countries. She was named on the list of forty most influential Asian-Australians at the inaugural Asian-Australian Leadership Summit.

Her film credits include Oscar nominated film Lion (2016), Bollywood films Begum Jaan (2017) and Hawaizaada (2015), and comedy Australian film Save Your Legs! (2012). She has worked in Hindi films like My Name Is Khan, Dus Tola, and Besharam.

This year, she starred in Tom Jerry and The One, now streaming on Netflix. She also has two feature films coming out in 2022- Black Site and Wedding Season.